Bad Religion returned to the Pacific Northwest for a timely performance of The Vox Populi Tour in Seattle, WA. As the 2016 election looms in the near future, the aging punk rockers decided to hit the road once again to speak their mind and vent their personal political frustrations. The Pier jumped in the mosh pit for the night to listen to Dr. Graffin’s lecture, ending the night feeling politically enlightened and drenched in sweat (surprisingly, both felt pleasantly appropriate).

Expectations were high for this punk rock show from the beginning. The name of the tour, Vox Populi, is a latin term that means ‘the voice of the people’ or ‘popular opinion’ and in broadcasting refers to an interview with members of the public. These meanings proved exceptionally accurate on Wednesday night, October 26th in the SoDo District of Seattle, Washington as the crowd was directly involved in the performance from the beginning.

Opening the night was Dave Hause of The Loved Ones playing a mix of electric and acoustic guitar with various members of all three groups. The crowd was already quickly filling the venue during the opening set and Hause did not fail to notice; numerous exchanges with the crowd between songs led Hause to notice a young man on his dad’s shoulder and quickly realized that it was his first concert. Hause followed up his conversation by inviting Jay Bentley of Bad Religion and Atom Willard of Against Me! to join onstage and play his new track, “Dirty Fucker,” inspired by “the dirty, dirty motherfucker running for president” as he recently told Shutter16 after the tour hit Charlotte, NC earlier this month.

Dave Hause sufficiently primed the building crowd for Against Me! to take the stage next. Known for socially-conscious lyrics and often acoustic anthems, Against Me! performed their unique folk and country-inspired punk rock to Seattle fans including a mix of new and old tracks from their nearly 20-year-career. The unique and eclectic crowd was excited to hear Against Me!, and especially Laura Jane Grace, perform songs from the last two albums; 2014’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues and 2016’s Shapeshift With Me. Both of these albums delve into the issues, challenges, and successes experienced by Laura Jane Grace and the LGBTQ community as a whole. Laura and Against Me! received plenty of support from the crowd throughout their 14-song set that included appropriately-themed songs of rebellion for the night opening with “True Trans” and ending the set with a knockout combo of “Pints of Guinness Make Me Strong,”“Teenage Anarchist,” and “Black Me Out.”

Finally, Bad Religion took the stage to loud cheers from the eager fans. The sellout crowd of 1,500 punk rockers packed in the open floor and barely left enough room to walk through the two bar areas. The crowd diversity carried over from Against Me! and included a wide-range of individuals for the all-age show. Bad Religion did not shy away from the diversity or current political climate and instead fully embraced their opportunity to speak to the masses around the country, as Jay Bentley previously explained to LA Weekly.

“It is a politically driven message, and we went through the catalog and chose the songs that have important meaning. We have political statements like ‘Man With a Mission’ or ‘You Are (The Government),’ which point at things as they are today, and we close the show with ‘Fuck Armageddon, This is Hell,’ which is us just throwing our hands up in the air and going, ‘I don’t even know what to think anymore.’”– Jay Bentley, Bassist, Bad Religion via LA Weekly

The political statements continued throughout the night primarily through the music. Lyrics from songs written decades ago rang true in today’s world and current political atmosphere; refreshing to hear from a music standpoint but depressing to hear that our politics and government have many of the same issues now that we had back then. With little need for added political commentary, Greg Graffin and the boys (can they still be called “the boys” in their early 50s?!) mostly let the music speak for itself and packed in as many songs as they could. The names of the songs to bookend the 29-track set list sums up the band’s overall statement quite nicely, opening with “You Are The Government,”and closing with Fuck Armageddon, This Is Hell” for encore.

Luckily for the rest of the Bad Religion fans, The Vox Populi Tour is not over yet. Five more shows are on the docket including NorCal, SoCal, and Arizona with the finale booked at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Check the full details for all remaining shows below and stay tuned to The Pier for more punk news and coverage.

Bad Religion feat. Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!- Television LIVE in Seattle

Against Me! – Teenage Anarchist LIVE in Seattle

Dave Hause – Prague LIVE in Seattle

Bad Religion Photos…

Against Me! Photos…

Dave Hause Photos…

This entry was posted on Monday, October 31st, 2016 at 1:20 pm and is filed under Concert Reviews.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.